iPhones selling well in Japan though still no good as phones

   iPhones, the mobile phones made by Apple Inc., are now being sold in the United States. They are selling so well there that it is now speculated that the sales will well go beyond the target. They are so popular that even in Japan, where they are not officially on the market, people are buying them. It is still not known if Japanese mobile phone operators will introduce them in the country.

Selling may start in Europe in not distant future.

Japanese consumers are waiting for Apple's iPhone to be sold in Japan

   Two months have passed since Apple started selling the new type of mobile phone iPhone across the U.S. on June 29 (June 30 Japan Time). The iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone in that it does not have the key pad (with buttons) but, instead, has a touch panel. Besides, it can download music from the iTunes web page operated by Apple. When the iPhones were first sold in the U.S., people queued in front of the shops directly operated by Apple to buy them.

   It was reported in the U.S. on Aug. 22, 2007 that an analyst predicted the sales of iPhones in the fourth quarter (July-September) would top 800,000 units, far more than the initial sales target set by Apple of 730,000 units. Apple lowered the price by about 100 dollars for 8- and 4-gigabyte models for online sales. The New York Times on its Aug. 22, 2007 issue reported that Apple said 270,000 iPhones had been sold in two days from Aug. 20 to 21. The sales were seen to rise further.

   The German Financial Times reported on Aug. 21 that the leading mobile phone operators in Europe, including T-Mobile of Germany, O2 of Britain and Orange of France, had reached agreement to form a tie-up for the sales of iPhones. Thus, it may not be long before the iPhones will be sold in Europe.

   The selling of iPhones in Japan is also expected. Popularity of the iPhone is already boiling up in Japan. Views are exchanged on the iPhone on the internet, and collection of signatures to request for the selling of the new phone has been started.

   DragonField Inc., which operates the blog service "Mogo Mogo", began the signature collecting campaign on the blog. Such comments as "I want it through docomo" and "Want to use it through softbank" are said to have already been contributed to the campaign. The staff of the company who want to use the iPhones in Japan themselves are believed to have launched the campaign. The company indicated it will report to Apple when it collects 5,000 signatures.

   Some people in Japan have already actually bought the new phones while they are still not usable as phones. On mixi, the leading SNS (social networking service) there is a thread among those who have bought the iPhones, showing there really are those who owns the phones even though they are no good as phones in Japan.

No good as phones, but can be used for videos

"I can not use them. But I am satisfied with using them for other purposes."
"I have activated it by concluding a PrePaid contract and using it only as WiFi PDA."
"I am living in Japan, so I asked a friend in LA to buy one for me. And I am using it mainly for viewing videos."
"I am living in Japan. So I am using it as PDA with its iPod capability without using it as a phone."

   These comments show that some people in Japan are enjoying the function of the iPhone though it can not be used as a phone. Information exchange is already taking place on mixi on the prices on auction website and parts, showing fans are already gathering up.

   All these indicates that it will be soon that selling of iPhones will begin in Japan. There seems to be a difficulty about this, however. It was reported that NTT Docomo and SoftBank showed their interest in introducing the iPhones in Japan when the selling started in the U.S. Inquired by J-CAST News, however, a person in charge of public relations at Docomo said that "the company was interested but has not decided on the introduction". "Studying is conducted on makers at home and abroad, but it is true that no decision has been made on the iPhone," he said. People in charge of public relations at SoftBank also said, "We have nothing to say as we have taken no decision."

   The iPhone uses the communication format called GSM. In order to introduce the new phone in Japan, therefore, new terminals that can be used on the WCDMA format for the 3G (third generation) mobile phones have to be newly developed. Apple is reportedly asking for payment of part of fees collected from iPhone users for making calls, and this way of conducting business by Apple may also present a difficult problem for Japanese communication companies to accept.